The course is predominately flat with one roller and exposed. Just like most of Calgary riding. It was windy and the fields got shredded on the cross wind sections. Dallas was in a break of 5 dudes with team mate Trev, a Deadgoat, a Pedalhead, and a Bowdude by the end of the first lap. Trev got shelled off at the end of the second, and the Bowdude just took Dallas in the sprint for the line. Tanya raced with the Master C men as well as the women. She got 5th overall in Men/Women combined and crushed the next women by what seem like over 10min. I didn't see Keith's finish. Dennis and Harley got 6th and 7th in the RR respectively. The rest we need to wait for the results or comments.

Congrats to Kyle for his 7th, and to Mike Healy for succesfully negotiating the packs of Ironman.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Well, that was an amazing response to the M/W option. It makes me feel great that the work I put into designing and teaching these classes is so well received.

I just recently found out I got a position as a Sessional Instructor at the University for the Fall/Spring. This is good news, however, my dream of having a tight little group of 10 athletes that I can really spend extra time on doesn't seem doable right now. Therefore, I have switched the Tues/Sun class into a duplicate of the Mon/Wed class, just with different times. Here is the link. The M/W class sold out in two days, I expect this one to take longer, but there has been a big response from the non-team-member cycling community.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

There is still a critical need for volunteers, anyone that can help will be given free sunscreen and a burger. And no, the burger will not be delivered 'Keith-Style' nor will it be thrown down by Dallas, aka BurgerKing, as a precursor to a leg busting attack.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Well I will try and keep this short. The Cat 4 team met before the race and a simple plan was established. Clarke, Mike and Simon were designated "attackers" with the green light for anytime in the race. Larry, Jason and Ed would protect Thomas and Rob who were 8 and 7 points respectively away from cat 3. This strategy was executed to perfection.

Simon started it with a kilometer zero attack. The bunch was not having any of it so they pulled him back after 10 min of hard riding. Immediately a Bici guy and Clarke got of the front, the pack, worn out from Simon's early attack let it go...and go it did. 45 or so km later, after having a very relaxing hour plus of watching other teams pull (with Simon doing his best George Hincapie impression riding on the front and pulling the pack back up to anyone foolish enough to counter attack), the race was back together.

What followed was many many small attacks by Simon, Clarke and Mike (Jason put in one attack as well just for good measure) all the while Rob and Thomas were sitting back, enjoying a mostly leisurely ride. By the last 1/2 of the last lap our frequent attackers Simon and Clarke were a bit tired so the 'protectors' (plus Mike) had to take up more of the chasing - again we kept it all together despite the more viscious (read desperate) attacks from the other teams. Mike says he hit 600+ watts chasing down an attack - all I know is we were going 30km one second and near 50 the next so for me it felt sudden and fast.

With 5 km to go the attacks were coming fast and furious so speed theory went to the front and took over the race. I must admit, I was seeing spots at the 2 km mark when my work was done and I was swamped by the field - word has it we had strung it out long enough that the last 2 km, although fast and furious, were safe and our 2 protected guys delivered the goods. Congrats Rob on the win and Thomas on 4th! Amazing job to everyone - all the team played their role to perfection and took their turn inflicting some pain. I think Rob's reaction after the race says it all. "That was the most awesome race I've ever been part of!" I agree 100% Rob and not just because of the amazing course, excellent race organization (great job Trev) and superb result (mission accomplished, 2 guys to Cat 3 so now there are 7), it was great because it proved we could dominate the race with teamwork.

Here's to amazing team work and lots of fun. I may be in Cat 4 forever but if all the races are as much fun as this I don't think I'll mind.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Jason Lapierre event was a fun Road Race for us lowly cat 5ers. Before I begin, I want to put out some thanks to a bunch of guys who did a lot of work at the front. There were a few gentlemen from the Nilkas Group that did yo-mans work at the front. Jeff from Rundle Mountain, Smiling Carl from Speed theory and a handful of others kept taking it on the chin for the rest of us.

The race started of very slowly. For the first couple of minutes I thought that we were in a neutral zone for some reason but once I learned that there was no neutral zone, it was time to ‘giddy-up’.Depending on where you were in the pack, it seemed like we either going very slow or very fast. At the front, the surges would come on with regularity and I had to put the hammer down, but if I was in the pack, a surge just meant my HR had to go up a few beats.

It was very difficult to make any sort of break away stick. The flat course with a large bunch of riders at roughly the same level of fitness meant breaking away would take a Herculean effort. Some tried valiantly. I tried on a couple of occasions to sneak up the side and launch off the front either by myself or with a team mate. Usually someone would see me lurking and would latch on before I made the front, or the front guys would hammer up quickly and haul the pack with them. It was fun but they took their toll.

There were a few really hard attempts made by others. Alan O. made an impressive, albeit suicidal, attack near the turn around immediately after an attack that caused some good pain and suffering around the interchange. I imagine I wasn’t the only one feeling the hurt. Jeff from Rundle Mountain and a few others made some attempts to shake us loose on the home stretch but the pack would not let anyone go no matter what. There were a few dicey moments when the pack would shift violently to one side of the road then to the other. I thought I was going to be taken out (or take someone out) on a few occasions. I hope I didn’t cause any scary moments for anyone.

The finish was interesting in that we start cranking up the pace quite some distance from the finish line. As the group started to splinter, my only thought was to get back up towards the front before the final sprint. I was concentrating on NOT doing anything stupid, like say take out half the pack by hitting someone’s wheel when all of a sudden we were 20 meters from the finish line. We were at full speed but I still had some horse left in the tank. It was all but too late to make use of whatever I had left in my legs when I crossed the finish line.

12th place is not anything to write home about but I know I have it in me for top 10 or better.

It seems that every race I learn something about racing and about myself. The camaraderie between riders sure makes it fun and I get to meet some interesting people. I’m way more capable than I ever thought I was so look out next year; I’m gunning for number 1! (but, can I stay in Cat 5 forever?)

TK

[Editor: The first photo is of Handsome Rob winning the Cat4 JayLap RR and moving to Cat3 !! The second is of Paul's win in the Cat5 event.]

Monday, August 24, 2009

"Due to some serious concerns passed along to us by Shell (the owners of the building/parking lot at the Research Park that we stage the Crit series out of) about some incidents on the road in recent weeks and throughout this season, we have been forced to take the step of canceling the remainder of the 2009 Midweek Mayhem Crit season.

"Participants are reminded that our races are run on open roads. Participants have also been reminded throughout the season that when catching up to vehicles from behind, racing should be neutralized until the vehicle has cleared the course. Under no circumstances is it permissible to engage in ANY kind of confrontational and/or abusive behaviour towards drivers on the course."

I hope this doesn't put future use of this course in jeopardy. Keith, Dallas, Brent, Noel and the rest of the Midweek crew work hard to put on the races every Tuesday, and it would be a shame to see a great midweek race series come to an end, even though I suck at crits, as Keith reminds me every week...

Speed Theory (the store) just sent out their monthly newsletter and included a link to the spin class structure and sign up for this fall and spring. I don't want to catch any team members out that planned to sign up for this like usual, here is the link. It would be great if we had a very similar group to years past since the environment is fun, relaxed, and painful and I love it that way. New ST Cycling members are of course encouraged to sign up as well. In years past, the team has really hit the ground running after really getting to know each other over the winter.

Admittedly, it is hard to think of regularly spinning indoors already after the 11 real days of summer we have had. The spins don't start until October though, so you can either relax through Sept after a great JayLap weekend and overall race season, or hit up Cyclocross to bridge the gap.

Congrats to all the racers, volunteers and Speed Theory members for hosting such a great race weekend. It was such a tribute to hold this wonderful event in Jay's name. For those lucky enough to have known the guy, we know that he would have been humbled by this amazing event being held in his name. A special congrats to Trev on leading the effort.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

After two weekends of narrowly escaping hail storms and high winds (my parent's garden 1/4 mile away was leveled) ... I finally have some veggies ready. As I previously posted the veggies are pretty much organic and have not been sprayed with pesticide or herbicide. I will be out at the farm on Friday doing some work so if anyone wants me to bring you some veggies on Saturday to the JayLap let me know.

I am not sure if I will have a lot of beets or carrots ready, but I will bring what I can.

A few people had expressed interest in coming out and picking their own veggies. I am cool with that and will be spending a lot of time out at the farm over the next month as I will be harvesting, cleaning and packaging the veggies for market.

Drop me an email at markshand@shaw.ca if you want me to bring you some fresh veggies this weekend or if you want to make arrangements to come out to get some.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Our Cat 1/2 team was out-gunned today except for Dallas who made a 3 man break that looked super promising until Robin Bailey decided he was totally awesome today! Wow.. what a performance. Congrats to Robin for a dominating victory! He won it with panache, the way we would all like to win. Like when Gilbert won Omloop Het Volk last year. H&R in general were pretty overpowering today. Good work guys, I got to see all the action on the hairpins!

Rick Courtenay laid it down today for a wicked 2nd place in Cat5.

Tanya was the aggressor in the womens field and whittled the pack down to just 4 girls. 3 A's and her, the only B. She duked it out in the sprint but couldn't match the experience the other women had on her. Very succesful day for her though. Kailee also did totally awesome! She solo'd in for 2nd in Women's B !! So we locked up 1st and 2nd in that division.

I am not sure about the other Cat's since I only saw brief glimpses of them but I am sure they will pipe up.

Next on the road calendar is our weekend! I am looking forward to it.

Jaya wanted to be put in the Prov Championship Mussette so I could take her on the next road race.

Friday, August 14, 2009

I have a Vision TT bar with DA bar-ends and some brake levers if someone wants to turn a bike into a TT'er for Provincials. They are free if you are going to use them and not sell them on Ebay. Only available to a Team Member Cat5'er.

OK, Carson just finished formatting the technical guide and it is up and running and looking good.

Thomas and I will now work on compiling and populating a volunteer list. Thank you everyone for directly contacting me so far about volunteering. I really appreciate it and makes me know hosting this event was a great decision.

Also, apparently the Round 3 of clothing was shipped on Aug 10th, so we should be seeing that soon.

Also, Darryl just dropped off one of the club's MEDIUM SKINSUITs to the store... anyone want it for the Prov ITT ?

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Anyone doing the Provincial RR next weekend?I am on the fence having been sick most of the past week and a half. If I can get a few solid rides in by Thursday to get my lungs back I might.-----------------------------

Friday, August 7, 2009

You only had to put up with him for a half minute. For me it was a little longer. I have sent photos to many of you but I don't have email addresses for Joel, Harlee, Mike Hoang, Rick Courtney, Darcy Gullacher and I have good shots of each of you. Matt and Perry L. sorry no photos of you.

Please send me an email at mikehealy at shaw dot ca or in a comment here and I will fire off the photos.

All:We are planning an all club ride tomorrow starting at Cadence Cafe in Bowness. We will be leaving at 9:00 a.m. Let everyone know. We will be riding about 3-4 hours (route to be decided) This ride will be race pace though. As you can see by the people I have copied race pace for a few may be a little quicker than for the rest of us.

Thomas, you are in charge of towing Trev back to the pack if he gets dropped.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

"Being in a breakaway is like going from a cushy job at a big company with a regular paycheck to a really hard job at a tiny company where you have to work 16 hour days on commission only and people are always yelling at you."

Of course, I can't speak from experience, having never made the break...

Well, I didn't do it. I woke up Sunday morning and with one twitch of my leg, and a whimper from my mouth, I knew I wasn't contesting the road race. I stayed upstairs for quite sometime since I knew I wasn't decending without some pain. I went and watched the first half of the men's Cat 1/2 race and knew I would have been dropped faster than even the crit the night before so I was happy with my decision not to pin on my numbers. Hope all you guys had fun out there submerging yourselves into new pain territory on that long hill toward the finishline. I was really unhappy I had to miss it.

Now the focus for the club switches to the JayLap weekend. Preparation for the organization and for racing it too. I spent a bit of time on the volunteer commitment list this morning and will have it out soon.

Hope everyone had a great weekend of racing. Thanks to Mike Healy and Carson for taking so many cool pictures. After Road Provinicials, it is our turn to host a wicked event and the road season is all but over. Let's give people something to remember.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Sitting here at midnight, 3 races into 'The Quad', my heart feels bruised and my knees are aching, I wonder if it is possible. Sure I only lasted 2 laps plus the neutral in the Crit today, but I started it and really tried. Watching the awesome pace of the Crit that I barely lasted the neutral lap from the sidelines, I was totally awed by the speed. It was sure a show! Congrats to Jared and Keith for making it to the pack finish and Lachlan and Carson for being in the mix for as long as they did. It truely was fantastic watching on 'Crash Corner'.

Congrats to Mark Macdonald of H&R for taking a dominating sprint win. He made it look easy, which it most definitely was not.

Kyle Marcotte is sitting 10th after a solid 2'14 ride. Trev Williams tore up the bike with the fastest bike split of the day by almost a minute (2'09). And remember, this is after racing the COP hill climb last night at 8pm. I am looking forward to his leadout at the crit tonight.

Frank FFF Woolstencroft appears to have the fastest bike split in is age group by 11 minutes. Not too shabby.

No updates from me on the run. I assume the crew will write their races reports over the next few days.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Hey all,so here we are with two major events going on this weekend ... Tour de Bowness and Ironman 70.3. The hill climb is over and my legs and lungs are trying to tell me something that my brain does not want to listen to.We will see if stretching will help me feel better in the morning.

As some of you know, I have been getting back to my agricultural roots and have put in a half acre of vegetables. My plan is to sell these vegetables at the Calgary Corn Maze, but I also thought that I would put it out to the team to see if anyone wants some farm fresh produce. The veggies are grown out at my parents farm NW of the city and are pesticide and herbicide free. Pretty much organic, but you have to jump through a lot of hoops to get certified and I have no interest in that.Due to the ongoing process of thinning and weeding, so things can have space to grow, I have baby green onions (quite possibly the most delicious green onions I have ever tasted) and beet greens ready right now. I know what you are saying ... beet greens, what the heck are those and what do I do with them (two questions I asked myself). Beet greens are the tops of the beet plant and are a good source of Protein, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Thiamin, Riboflavin, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Copper and Manganese. Who knew I was going to throw out something so good for you!? For the past week I have been throwing the greens into my salad with other greens and there are also many recipes on the internet.Over the next two months I will also have potatoes (eleven varieties ... looking forward to the ones with red or purple flesh), beets, dill, carrots and green onions. I have some bulb onions planted, but I don't know if they will fill out by the fall.Let me know if you are interested and I can hook you up with the green stuff (not the illegal kind).

Good luck to everyone who is racing this weekend and I am sure that I will see most of you over the next couple days!

Hello Speed Theory Racers! Well, cyclo-cross season is right around the corner and in response to the request from several team members, we have searched out a deal for you on a sweet cyclo-cross bike. For any of you that are interested, Speed Theory is willing to offer an amazing deal on the Argon 18 Arsenic. Regular price on this bike is $2699.99 but from now until Monday September 14th we will be offering the Arsenic for only $1999.99. This offer is only valid for current Speed Theory Race Team members and will be sold with the following components only:

Frame 100% Carbon

Front Derailler Shimano 105

Rear Derailler Shimano Ultegra SL

Shifters Shimano 105

Brakes Avid Shorty

Crankset Truvativ Elita Cyclocross 34/48

Bottom Bracket Truvativ Elita

Chain Shimano 105

Headset FSA Orbit IS CX

Stem FSA OS 190 Alloy

Handlebar FSA Omega Compact

Saddle Argon 18 ARS-1000 (male or female specific)

Seatpost Argon 18 ASP-1000 Carbon 27.2m

Tires Michelin Cyclocross Mud 2 700x30

Sizes Available XS (48-50cm)

S (51-53cm)

M (54-56cm)

L (57-59cm)

If this is an offer that you are interested in please stop by the store to put down a required deposit of $400 and also send an email to darcy@speedtheory.ca some time before 6pm on Monday September 14th with the following information:

Frame size (please be sure of this as it is not possible to change after they have been ordered)

Stem length

Crank arm length

Bar width

If you feel you need more information on this bike you can always call the store or check out the following link: